WHEW!

Wow. It's been almost 4 months since I have blogged about our little family, and what a 4 months its been! It began with putting our house on the market shortly after my last blog. The house sold in 10 DAYS and we had to pack up the house, find a place to live, and move within 4 weeks! Meanwhile, I started back to work from maternity leave (SO SAD), went to contract to build a new home (HAPPY), interviewed potential nannies for Rylan and babysitters for our beach trip, multiple weddings to attend, had a quick night out to catch Panic while they were in our backyard…Alpharetta, packed up PODS to store our stuff while we wait on the new house to be built, and of course just the day to day life with a 2 month and 2 year old! Needless to say it was a pretty crazy month or so.
We closed on our house at the beginning of June and moved in with Granny! Then it didn't stop there, 2 weeks after we moved a tornado came through and brought down trees all over and one took out Granny's fence, pool, and deck (thankfully no one was hurt). The first month at Granny's was crazy, in addition to everything else, we had the annual Farmapalooza event in Woodstock, made the final decisions on brick and interior selections for the new house (no small feat), and went to the beach (Seagrove) for a week with the family over July 4th (where I also turned... ahem … cough… cough… 30!). On top of all of this my job has picked up and I have been busier in the last couple months than I have been in the 41/2 years that I've worked for the CDC. It didn't help that these were first months back after maternity leave and I'm keeping Ry at home with me while I work. I published my 4th manuscript and this one was chosen by the Editors for a press release, which was exciting and overwhelming at the same time.
I think this has probably been the busiest I have ever been in my entire life and it finally came to a "close" yesterday after I gave a presentation at work that I had been fretting over the last couple months. So I am feeling not guilty AT ALL about playing "hooky" today and catching up on my blogging, pictures, and best of all cuddling my little baby that is not so little anymore!
So we are currently living with Granny in Marietta while the new house is built. They will be breaking ground any day now and expect to close at the end of November. We decided to move in with Granny after visiting the one house that we could rent short term and seeing…. well, lets just say conditions we were not willing to bring our babies into (human and fur)! I am SO glad we made the choice to live at Granny's. She has been so helpful through everything that has been going on, and we all have plenty of space to make it work while we wait for the new house. It's been great having another set of hands and I know the kids love getting extra grandma love :) Its pretty nostalgic living back in East Cobb. I have not lived here since I was 17, and although we visit often, it is weird going back to the same grocery stores and driving down good old Johnsons Ferry regularly. I have to admit EC is very convenient as far as location goes, but I did not miss the traffic! It will be (and has been) a neat little adventure so far, but I will enjoy being back in Woodstock once the house is ready. I've surprisingly learned to love the quiet and miss seeing all of the farms/horses/cows/etc. Hard to believe after I was so sad to leave "hip" East ATL. (Hmm….that statement makes me feel old, but whatever, I'm happy!!!)
Little miss Rylan will be 5 months old next week and is just a sweetie pie! She weighed in at 12lbs 4oz (15%) and was 24 3/4 inches (60%) long at her 4 month check up. She is long and lean but still has those Keller cheeks :) Rylan's personality has sprouted and she is thankfully just as laid back as her brother was. Other than requiring very warm bottles (DIVA), she just goes with the flow. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with her first months of life being a complete whirlwind. I don't think she had much choice but to just go along for the ride, but its worked in our favor as she is really the sweetest happiest little thing, and has truly blessed our life! She is rolling from tummy to back and a couple times has made if from back to tummy,  scooting around on her back. GIGGLING (which is the best feeling in the world), and really "playing" with her toys now. Rylan also likes to jibber jabber and I have a feeling she will be a chatterbox when she starts to really talk. So different with a little girl around! Her favorite past time though is watching her big brother. She just looks at him so intently and smiles, I love love love it! We are getting ready to start solids soon and I'm just in aww (as usual) at how fast the time is flying.
Keller is also becoming such a big boy! The potty training is in full swing now that life has settled (well at least as much as I expect it to with 2 kiddos). He has shown no jealousy yet towards Rylan, and actually loves to entertain her. He still gets so excited when she comes in the room and he'll sing her songs and dance for her, its just about the sweetest thing I think I've ever seen. I don't know what Keller weighs now since he won't be seeing the doctor until he's THREE! But he is definitely a growing boy and looks less and less like a toddler as the days go by (really SAD). He is speaking very well and loves loves loves apples! (dried, whole, applesauce, whatever is available!) We decided to keep him at Goddard in Woodstock while the house is built. Its been tough on Sean and I to get him there and back everyday, but it is the one thing we can keep consistent in his life during all of the changes. He still loves school and his buddies, so it is worth every minute of driving and drop of gas (anything to keep my babies happy :) Although these transitions have a been a little tough on everyone, Keller has done a great job of just going along with things and adjusting quickly. He is still such a sweet boy, and melts his mama's heart :)

Ok, well I've done my best to give a quick summary of what's been going on in our lives the past 4 months. I could not detail everything of course, but we did manage to still take lots of pictures of all the fun. I've posted a few of my favorites below, but please check out our family photos page for lots more!
I hope to never be quite so insanely busy again and do a better job of keeping up with this blog! Back to the once a month goal I go….